


A Strange Partnership

by strawberry_turtleduck



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkwardness, Ba Sing Se, Book 2: Earth (Avatar), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fake Marriage, Falling In Love, Mutual Pining, Uneasy Allies, Zuko (Avatar) Needs a Hug, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 06:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30135063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_turtleduck/pseuds/strawberry_turtleduck
Summary: Finding herself on her own in the Earth Kingdom, Katara comes across a familiar face and strikes up a deal.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 25





	A Strange Partnership

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is my first fanfic ever, so that's exciting! i've been loving katara and zuko so much i decided to write about them :) right now this is just a one shot, but i have ideas for future chapters so those will be coming soon. i hope you enjoy!
> 
> btw, this is set somewhere in book 2, but everyone is aged up about 2 years, so katara would be 16 and zuko would be around 18 (still awkward as ever tho lol!)
> 
> <3, strawberry_turtleduck

The town seemed a bit dusty, but decent enough to stop through. And the sun had been beating down on Katara for what felt like years. She had set out earlier that morning in hopes of finding a town by noon, but it was nearing evening and she was exhausted. Her food stores were almost empty as well, so this stop was more than necessary. She didn’t like setting foot in unfamiliar towns this close to night, but she really did feel like she was going to faint from hunger, so she gathered up her pack and set out in search of a market. 

Katara glanced around as she walked, drawing her pack a little tighter to her body. Ever since the storm, and the town she had stumbled into after, she had been a bit wary of townspeople she met. She had gone in search of help to find her friends, but any who had even stopped to listen just scoffed at her and walked away. This town seemed no different. The people kept eyeing her and looking away, probably suspicious of her darker skin and lighter eyes, rare in these parts. Holding her head a little higher, Katara reminded herself of her cover story. Her parents were merchants from the tribes, but had been killed by bandits while they were staying in the Earth Kingdom, leaving Katara on her own. She was making her way to Ba Sing Se, hoping to start a new life. Well, at least part of the story was true. Ba Sing Se was her only hope left of finding Sokka and Aang. Old fears of abandonment started to creep out, but she pushed them back down. She had arrived at the market, and needed to focus.

After restocking most of her missing supplies, Katara counted what money she had left and decided to allow herself a cold drink to ward off the sweltering heat. Approaching a promising stand, she didn’t notice another traveler making his way over, and proceeded to knock right into him.

“Oh!” Katara exclaimed, as the stranger let out a surprised grunt. “I’m so sorry!” 

She hurriedly knelt down, the stranger following, to help gather his dropped items. Not glancing at him, she rambled on with hasty apologies and how she never looked where she was going—

“It's fine,” the stranger rasped, who was kneeling opposite her and had gone oddly still.

Oh no. She knew that voice. She looked up, peering under his hat, and started to scream, 

“Zuk—”

His hand clapped over her mouth. His annoyingly warm hand.

“Stop!”, he whisper-yelled, “If you make a scene here we’ll both be in trouble!”

She tried to growl out, “I don’t give a damn about making a scene!”, but it came out as garbled nonsense from behind his hand.

“Stop it! It’ll be bad for both of us!” His voice had taken on a pleading note. “And it's ‘Lee’ now, not Zuko.”

She grew still behind his hand. Grudgingly, she admitted to herself that it would be an unnecessary hassle to give the already suspicious townspeople more reason to mistrust her. 

Zuko slowly removed his hand when she made no move to struggle.

“Fine.”

Eyeing each other warily, they stood up, jumping a little as the drink vendor seemingly materialized right in front of their faces.

“What can I get you young folks?” the vendor asked with a cheery smile.

“Oh! Um, whatever you have that’s cheap and icy!” Katara said, forcing a smile onto her face.

“Of course! And for you, young man?”

“The same.” came Zuko’s stiff reply.

As the man assembled their drinks, he battered them with increasingly specific questions. Who they are, why they’re traveling, what brings them to his town, is there something they’re trying to leave behind? Katara, sensing the impending doom that would surely come from her and Zuko giving mismatched responses, blurted out—

“We’re betrothed!” 

She grabs forcefully onto Zuko’s arm as he looks sharply at her and stiffens, protest looming in his reddening expression.

“Yes! Lee here is my fiance! We’re traveling to Ba Sing Se to get married!”

“Oh my! You must have my congratulations! It's not every day you get to hear a good love story, how ever did you two meet—”

“I’m sorry, but we really must be going,” Katara interjected, replacing the drinks with a few coins.

“Aw, that's too bad…” the man trailed off as Katara dragged Zuko with her away from the stand.

“What are you doing?!” Zuko hissed out.

“Shut up and keep moving! Try not to look so much like a constipated boarcupine, at least until we get out of here.”

“How dare—”

“Shut up!!” she hissed, tightening her already deadly grip on his arm.

Fuming, he went silent. Katara half walked-half ran them back out of the town, and towards the clearing in the woods that she had picked out earlier for herself.

“Finally! What in Agni’s name do you think you’re doing?! And why the hell did you drag me out here! Give me one good reason not to attack you right now!”

“Can you PLEASE stop yelling! I’m doing both of us a favor here—”

“A favor?! You call sticking your nose in my business a favor?!”

“Hey! I could’ve told everyone back there that you’re the crown prince of the Fire Nation but I didn’t—”

“And now what? You’re expecting me to owe you something now?! Well guess what, that’s not how real life—”

“You need me!” 

This got him to quiet down.

Reddening slightly, Katara went on, “I mean, we would both benefit from sticking together. Think about it! We’re both obviously on our own right now, we both stick out like sore thumbs in the Earth Kingdom, and a betrothal story definitely draws suspicion away from us!”

“And why again would you ever agree to travel with me? I know what you’re doing, you’re laying a trap for me to walk into, just so the Avatar can get me out of the way.”

“His name is Aang, and if you haven’t noticed, he’s not exactly around. We got separated a few weeks ago, and I’ve been trying to find my way back to them. I know they would go to Ba Sing Se next, so if we go there together, we both get what we want, a safer path to the Avatar.”

Zuko looked away for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. Grudgingly, he muttered, “Why do we have to be betrothed? Can’t we just be traveling together, or something?”

Katara raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think we could pass for siblings?”, she deadpanned. “And an unmarried pair would bring even more attention, I really don’t want that.”

“Even if I do agree to this, what’s stopping you from double crossing me as soon as we reach Ba Sing Se?”

“It’s a big city! As soon as we get there, we can part ways, and give each other at least a day before trying anything!

Glaring at her, he loosens his stance slightly. “Fine.”

“Great!” she exclaimed. “I’m making dinner.”

She bustled around, taking out supplies and things she had gotten at the market, aware of Zuko standing off to the side, looking warily at her.

“Can you be useful and start a fire? I’m starving and I want this stew done fast.”

Silently, he got to work, presenting her with a blazing cookfire within a minute.

As she worked, Katara tried to make small talk, and was answered with stilted, as-few-words-as-possible responses. Have you been in the Earth Kingdom long? Yes. Where’s that old man you were always traveling with? Uncle. Away. What happened to your hair? It grew. So she started talking, about how this stew was so much like one that Gran-Gran used to make, how Sokka would always ask for extra meat chunks in his serving, how it's much better eaten in the South Pole, where it can warm you up, instead of here in the middle of a hot Earth Kingdom summer.

As they ate, Zuko didn’t talk much more, but he did loosen up his posture and expression, and even said thank you afterwards and offered to wash the dishes. Katara found herself smiling slightly as she saw him hunched over by the stream, and wondered how in the world a semi-former enemy prince could be a more helpful traveling companion than her own brother and the avatar.

**Author's Note:**

> that's it for now! i'm really excited about this story, and i hope to get out a new chapter soon!


End file.
